Israel to ban 37 aid groups from working in Gaza

Israel will revoke the licenses of 37 humanitarian groups working in Gaza and the occupied West Bank, saying they have not met the requirements of new registration rules.

Well-known international non-governmental organizations (INGOs) such as ActionAid, the International Rescue Committee and the Norwegian Refugee Council will be among those whose licenses will be suspended on January 1 and their operations will end within 60 days.

Israel said the groups, among other things, failed to hand over the “complete” personal information of their staff.

The move was heavily criticized by foreign ministers from ten countries, including the UK, who said the new rules were “restrictive” and “unacceptable”.

In a joint statement, the foreign ministers of the United Kingdom, France, Canada, Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Japan, Norway, Sweden and Switzerland said the forced closure of INGO operations would have “a serious impact on access to essential services, including healthcare.”

They added that the humanitarian situation in Gaza remained “catastrophic” and called on the Israeli government to ensure that international NGOs were able to operate “sustainably and predictably”.

Israel’s Ministry of Diaspora Affairs, which is responsible for the registration requests, said the new measures would not impact the flow of humanitarian aid to Gaza.

He added that aid continued to be delivered through “approved and controlled channels”, including UN agencies, bilateral partners and humanitarian organizations.

He said the main reason humanitarian groups were having their licenses revoked was “the refusal to provide complete and verifiable information about their employees”, which he said was essential to prevent “the infiltration of terrorist agents into humanitarian structures”.

Earlier this month, UN-backed experts said There have been improvements in nutrition and food supplies in Gaza since a ceasefire was negotiated between Israel and Hamas in October, but 100,000 people still experienced “catastrophic conditions” the following month.

Israeli military body Cogat, which controls Gaza crossings, said the organizations that will be suspended “have not provided aid to Gaza for the duration of the current ceasefire.”

He adds that “even in the past, their combined contribution represented only about 1% of the total aid volume.”

The Diaspora Ministry said less than 15% of organizations providing humanitarian aid in Gaza were violating the new regulatory framework.

This framework includes several reasons for rejection, including:

• Denying the existence of Israel as a Jewish and democratic state

• Denying the Holocaust or the attacks carried out by Hamas against Israel on October 7, 2023

• Supporting an armed struggle against Israel by an enemy state or terrorist organization

• Promoting “delegitimation campaigns” against Israel

• Call for or pledge to boycott Israel

• Support prosecution of Israeli security forces in foreign or international courts

The Occupied Palestinian Territory Humanitarian Country Team – a forum that brings together UN agencies and more than 200 local and international organizations – previously warned that the new registration system “fundamentally jeopardizes” INGO operations in Gaza and the West Bank.

“The system relies on vague, arbitrary and highly politicized criteria and imposes demands that humanitarian organizations cannot meet without violating international legal obligations or compromising fundamental humanitarian principles,” he said.

He adds: “Even though some INGOs have been registered under the new system, these INGOs represent only a fraction of the response in Gaza and are far from sufficient to meet immediate and basic needs.”

According to the humanitarian country team, INGOs currently manage or support most of Gaza’s field hospitals and primary health care centers, emergency shelter responses, water and sanitation services, nutritional stabilization centers for acutely malnourished children, and critical mine countermeasures activities.

In a statement, Israeli Minister of Diaspora Affairs and Countering Anti-Semitism Amichai Chikli said: “The message is clear: humanitarian aid is welcome – the exploitation of humanitarian settings for terrorist purposes is not. »

Other organizations that will be suspended include CARE, Medico International and Medical Aid for Palestinians.